This invention relates to a system for detecting the height of a vehicle, such as an automotive vehicle.
Some automotive vehicle height control systems or levelling systems have a sensor generating a signal representative of the vehicle height. Vehicle height varying devices are controlled in accordance with this vehicle height signal so that the vehicle height can be maintained within a desired range. Advanced vehicle height sensors generate multi-bit digital signals.
Japanese published unexamined utility model application No. 60-34911 discloses a system for detecting a malfunction of a vehicle height sensor of the digital output type. A preset state or states of the digital vehicle height signal are allotted for indications of a malfunction of the vehicle height sensor. The other or remaining states of the digital signal are used to indicate the vehicle height. The allotment of a portion of the states of the digital signal for the detection of a malfunction reduces the number of the states of the digital signal usable for the vehicle height detection and thus decreases the resolving power of the vehicle height detection.